The Sharks used two goals in the span of four minutes in the second half to take a 2-0 victory at Melbourne High School and earn the program’s first state title in its five-year history.

“I told them all year long, we’re not going to be satisfied until we get a trophy,” Ponte Vedra coach Daniel Villarreal said. “We’re finally satisfied.”

Sharks senior Michael Parado broke a scoreless tie in the 52nd minute when he finished a cross from junior Corey Johnson. The perfectly timed ball found Parado running full speed at the far post, and he leapt and ripped a shot from point blank range past Heritage keeper Djman Suarez.

“The back post was open and I was there,” Parado said. “As long as we get people in the box and willing to score, someone’s going to get in and get it, and I was there for that opportunity.”

The Sharks (24-3-4) maintained their offensive pressure and it paid off with a corner kick in the 56th minute. Michael Lee’s corner kick from the left side landed at the feet of fellow senior Ben Fredericks at the far post, and Fredericks knocked home his shot to give Ponte Vedra a 2-0 lead.

Jakob Warpinski-Bitting went up for a header on the corner kick, but it appeared he slightly mistimed his jump at the near post. Fredericks, though, said Warpinski-Bitting’s timing was just right.

“To be honest I’m almost positive he got a flick on that,” Fredericks said. “All of a sudden the ball just picked up the pace and got right to my foot. It completely changed speeds.

“All I did was stick out my foot,” Fredericks added with a smile.

Heritage (23-4-2) had its share of chances, particularly in the first half. Keeper Kevin Shields came up with several saves for the Sharks, but with just 46 seconds to play in the half, Shields was called for a foul inside the 18-yard box. He came up to snuff a run by the Patriots but was called for too much contact against Heritage’s Donald Tomlinson. Heritage was awarded a penalty kick, but Samuel Vinson’s attempt rocketed over the top of the goal.

“That’s the first PK I’ve caused all year. I’m glad they didn’t score,” Shields said. “But I would have saved it if he’d made it on target.”

Villarreal said the Sharks have played somewhat tentatively in the first half all season, allowing themselves to feel teams out before coming out strong in the second half. That strategy worked in Ponte Vedra’s favor again, as momentum shifted completely in the Sharks favor after the half.

“All year long we’ve played in the first half and we’ve kind of not wanted to move forward or make mistakes or take those risks,” Villarreal said. “I said, ‘This is the last game. You’ve got to take risks.’ And it showed. We started getting numbers forward. We started taking players on and getting the ball in the box.”

And once they broke through with Parado’s goal and followed with Fredericks’ score, the Sharks had all but locked up their first state title.